You sir, are a genius and my new favorite person!!!! Thank you!!!
Seriously? Forget AT&T and Apple...all I need is this board, lol.
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upgrade swap gone wrong?
- Thread starter iphonenub
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Seriously? Forget AT&T and Apple...all I need is this board, lol.
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Yeah both Apple and AT&T are giving people the run around. I did lots of testing after I did the swap and both lines are working correctly. Get out there and get activated people!!!
jfrancis04 said:You sir, are a genius and my new favorite person!!!! Thank you!!!
Seriously? Forget AT&T and Apple...all I need is this board, lol.
Yeah both Apple and AT&T are giving people the run around. I did lots of testing after I did the swap and both lines are working correctly. Get out there and get activated people!!!
THIS WORKED!!! You friggin saved my life!
I put the sim from the old phone into the 4S and activated it, then put it back into the old phone. Then I put the new sim back into the 4S and we're good to go!
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I bet a lot of users experienced a rise in blood pressure today. Especially those at the call centers. It's interesting that swapping sims seems so appealing. I've done multiple upgrade swaps with each new iPhone release. Not once has it required moving sims around. But that said, thanks to AT&T's good service I've received our phones one day early each year. When performing the upgrade swap yesterday, my wife simply called AT&T as usual and within moments the proper lines were associated with the correct phones. No down time at all. No protest from iTunes either. Perhaps it's the Apple Magic.
I can't do this because the phone I used to upgrade doesn't use a micro SIM. I guess I'm going to the AT&T store tomorrow.
Keep in mind, this only works if you're coming from a microSIM card.
How did the 4S recognize the new SIM as your line? Had you been trying to activate it before?
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Yes. I called AT&T before I even turned on the device to get my number switched to the SIM in the 4S. I had confirmation that it had been swapped and was good to go by 11:15am eastern time. Been trying off and on until I used the SIM from the purchased line to activate and then replaced the original SIM.
Trauma1 said:
Yes. I called AT&T before I even turned on the device to get my number switched to the SIM in the 4S. I had confirmation that it had been swapped and was good to go by 11:15am eastern time. Been trying off and on until I used the SIM from the purchased line to activate and then replaced the original SIM.
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What I believe is happening is Apple's security is looking for a SIM card that has the info of the purchased line on it for a one time activation of the device. If the SIM card that is in it doesn't have that info on it it's going to throw up an error.
What I believe is happening is Apple's security is looking for a SIM card that has the info of the purchased line on it for a one time activation of the device. If the SIM card that is in it doesn't have that info on it it's going to throw up an error.
Yeah but it's annoying for us people who upgraded using someone else's line who isn't in the same state as us (or even maybe same country due to vacation or something). For me to activate my line, I would have to deactivate my dad's current phone but he's not in the same state as me. He would have to go to an AT&T store to get a new sim card when his stops working and you try getting a doctor to say goodbye to his phone for even a minute let alone have him go to an AT&T store when he just doesn't have the time.
I just find it annoying. I mean...is it really going to be one-time? Will I always have to use my dad's sim card if lets say I restore my iPhone to factory settings and have to reactivate it? That's what troubles me.
Yea I'm just leaving mine on the sim error screen overnight and will hope for the best in the morning.
If you're upgrading swapping you should be buying through AT&T and not Apple. Who did you buy it from?
But then again, if they're in a different state the billing address has to match the shipping address if you buy from AT&T...
In the case of an iPhone to iPhone (4/4s) transfer, all I had to do was take the unactivated sim for the upgraded line out and put my current sim in the 4s (upgraded from the 4) and it worked immediately. I don't even remember activating but it took about 5 minutes.
"Should"? I never had an issues with upgrade swapping in both Apple Stores or Apple online since all it takes is a phone call. In fact, on launch weekend of last year, my Apple store had AT&T representatives to help out so upgrade swapping or anything AT&T related was never an issue. I would go to an Apple store a million times rather than go an AT&T store. Then again, I used to work for Apple so I may be biased.
The only issue this time around is that phones that you buy from Apple now are being forced to be activated with the phone number you upgraded with. This was unforeseen by us all.
I might have missed a few posts in this thread that might have addressed this but I'll ask again anyway: Is this "sim card doesn't match" error happening to people who didn't buy from Apple directly?
wifes iphone 3gs --- upgraded phone
my iphone 4
synced 4s with new sim to itunes.
went too https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/
went through those steps
new phone activated with wifes number.
swap sim cards
all done
btw, not sure if you know this, but the old 3gs needed to be shut off before the new 4s could activate. this pretty much goes for any phone that gets upgraded.
my iphone 4
synced 4s with new sim to itunes.
went too https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/
went through those steps
new phone activated with wifes number.
swap sim cards
all done
btw, not sure if you know this, but the old 3gs needed to be shut off before the new 4s could activate. this pretty much goes for any phone that gets upgraded.
You shouldn't need to call anyone, or have anyone help you. Upgrade swapping, when done correctly, is simple as swapping SIM cards. When you're doing something out of the ordinary with AT&T, not buying the phone through them may cause problems (hence having an AT&T presence in-store), which it seems to be in this case.
No, the problem seems to be with people who DID buy from Apple.
Not if you have one phone with a microsim and another phone with a regular sim. During iPhone-iPhone 4 days, a call is your best bet since you don't have to swap sims, you just ask for the IMEI numbers to change and you're done. To me, there was nothing "out of the ordinary" about sim swapping since I've handled dozens of these situations when I worked for Apple. Unfortunately, Apple changed the activation system on specifically their phones (without any of us knowing) and there's nothing I can do about it other than do it the tedious way: which is actually physically swapping sims. I say tedious because there are some of us who don't have the other phone present and in this case, calling is a lot more easier.
I guess this is a positive for Apple retail employees who won't be seeing annoying resellers. I hated them so much.
People who are upgrade swapping now are most likely coming from an iPhone 4 with the microSIM, as most are still under contract. And Apple bumped up upgrade eligibility for the masses for the 3GS to iPhone 4 launch so upgrade swapping wasn't as prevalent. Yes, the microSIM is an issue, but you can just get one from an AT&T store painlessly (without having to wait on hold on the phone) or convert one yourself.
"Out of the ordinary" to AT&T. No matter where you get the phone from, it still has to go through AT&T's account verification system. If there is something unique about your account or what you are doing, Apple has no control over it. Only AT&T does. If such a problem arises, Apple won't be able to help you with your account upgrade. Only AT&T can. Why go through a middleman who may not have control over the situation if you have the option not to?
Everything you have said is your opinion and I really hate it when people try to force their opinions on me. Yes, most people are upgrading from an iPhone 4 but the person they may be swapping with may not have a phone with a microsim in which case what good is swapping to me? Also what good is swapping to me if I don't have the other phone on hand to swap with?
So, what would people rather do in this situation? Get their phone and call AT&T to change the phone number on the sim card that came with their new iPhone (of course, that can't happen now, but there was no way for me to predetermine that) or drive to an AT&T store when you may have work or when the person who is giving you their upgrade has work or lives in another state.
Like really...are you listening to yourself arguing with me over such a small issue? To me, driving to an AT&T is painful especially if you don't have a car or access to a car. To me, calling is easier. To me, ordering from Apple online directly is more reliable and easier than worrying and hoping that AT&T will ship my phone or if the website will even work. To me, talking to a AT&T representative over the phone is better than listening to an AT&T salesman in a store. Especially when I live in another state than the person whom I'm swapping with. To me, I did what I did because it was more convenient for me. Thank you for your unwanted comment on telling me what I SHOULD do. Yes, your suggestion to purchase from AT&T if doing upgrade swaps is valid NOW because of the new policy Apple is enforcing (which I think is only to make sure no one can resell iPhones launch day/weekend and make a huge profit) but your suggestion would've been invalid had this unwarranted policy not occur in my situation or anyone else in a similar situation.
On topic: I recall that iPhones that are restored to factory settings have to be activated again which before was a simple plug-into-iTunes ordeal. For those of you who did get your swaps to finally work using new sims and whatnot, do you know if the "sim doesn't match" error reoccurs if you restore your phone to factory settings and have to activate the phone again? That's my main concern. I'm hoping that this is just a one-time issue and won't happen again if I ever need to reactivate my phone. If someone can do a test...I'd be very happy! I can't get mine fixed yet to test it or else I would've.
All AT&T iPhones have to go through AT&T's verification server. AT&T has authority over the accounts, not Apple. Those are facts, not opinions.
I ordered through AT&T, upgrade swapped one of my lines, and have helped several others. No problems whatsoever, and never needed to contact AT&T. I don't want to defend AT&T, but if people want to avoid this problem now or in the future, the easiest way would be to to order/buy the phone through AT&T from the beginning and avoid all these issues.
My Upgrade Swap - ip4 to 4s
I did not call AT&T.
I first waited till 5 AM Sat for the insane traffic on the Activation Servers to die down.
Backed-up and Restored old ip4 to factory settings then powerd it off.
Activated new 4S on upgrade line per ATT instructions w/ sim that was shipped with unit then powered it off.
Swapped Sims
Turned on the 4s & restored from backup
Turned on ip4.
Everything WORKED.
I then checked my ATT account online for device & phone number associations and it automatically picked up the swap with the appropriate device now showing up on the associated phone #.
Mission complete.
I did not call AT&T.
I first waited till 5 AM Sat for the insane traffic on the Activation Servers to die down.
Backed-up and Restored old ip4 to factory settings then powerd it off.
Activated new 4S on upgrade line per ATT instructions w/ sim that was shipped with unit then powered it off.
Swapped Sims
Turned on the 4s & restored from backup
Turned on ip4.
Everything WORKED.
I then checked my ATT account online for device & phone number associations and it automatically picked up the swap with the appropriate device now showing up on the associated phone #.
Mission complete.
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...for this to work..you still have to enter the ssn and billing info its asking for when you first start the phone? Is there any way past this? I do not want to activate the number on which the 4S was ordered on. Since that will turn off the sim card in the other phone, and they would not be able to go to the ATT store anytime soon get it reactivated.
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The above is for activating the phone - nothing to do with an Upgrade Swap.
and no, I don't know how to bypass it.
Why would a basic security check be a problem if its your phone?
I dont want the other phone number to get transferred to this phone, the problem is swapping the sim cards between the lines afterwards...since the other person lives hours away from me.
GSM phone numbers are tied to the SIM. I you have 2 activated GSM phones, swap SIMS and you swap the phone numbers on those phones. If the phone's locations prevent a SIM swap, then you have to call ATT (or other GSM carrier) and have them associate the unique SIM ICCID to the desired phone number and then that ICCID with the phone's unique IMEI. Note If you activate an upgrade phone, the origianl SIM on the old phone will be deactivated & a new SIM will have to be obtained from the carrier. So, in this case, the account holder should call the carrier before activation.
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i like how you explained it to me like im a total noob ..lol ...but thanks. So there is no way around it. I guess i'll wait a day and take care of this when the other line holder is with me.